Happening in the community

The Italian Cultural Center is dedicated to helping promote local events that celebrate Italian culture in fresh and thought-provoking ways. If you have an event that fits this criteria and you would like to see it featured on the ICC website please e-mail secretary@theitalianculturalcenter.org.

On Thursday, January 31, 2019, join fellow ICC members for a group outing to see The Italian Straw Hatat MN Opera.ICC members receive a 20% discounton tickets throughout the opera season. Start at 6:30 pmwith a fun and informative half-hour session that includes an overview of the opera, historical and cultural context, and highlights to watch for during the show. Enjoy a complimentary champagne reception back stage during the intermission with fellow MN Opera patrons.

MUSIC BY NINO ROTA |LIBRETTO BY NINO ROTA AND ERNESTA ROTA

BRIMMING WITH LAUGHS

This uproarious comedy, by the composer best known for The Godfather film scores, comes to Minnesota Opera for the first time ever. Groom-to-be Fadinard gallops around Paris on his wedding day in search of a straw hat to replace the one his horse has inadvertently eaten. The bright and breezy score perfectly captures the increasingly ridiculous situation that rides on the edge of chaos. After seeing this 1950s madcap romp, you’ll never look at a hat—or a night at the opera—the same way again!

LANGUAGE

Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage

NINO ROTA

Giovanni “Nino” Rota, commonly referred to as Nino Rota, was an Italian composer and pianist, born on 3rd December 1911. In a career that spanned close to 46 years, Rota was known mostly for his tremendous capacity to produce large number of film scores in a relatively short period of time. Rota’s most notable works were for films of Italian directors Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti. Averaging around 3 film scores per year, Rota is also said to have worked most ferociously in the period of 1949-54, where he would produce close to 10 film scores per year. Apart from his efforts in the film industry, Rota managed to work on around ten operas, five ballets and several other orchestral, choral and chamber works.

RUNTIME

Approximately two hours and 15 minutes with one intermission

TICKETSOnline:

Contact Meredith at secretary@theitalianculturalcenter.org or call (612) 295-4111 to receive yourpromo code (and link that will autoload with code) and enter it in the promo code box BEFORE selecting your performance and seats.

Internationally renowned director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name, Suspiria) is known for his films that dive deeply into characters’ psyches and the dark waters of desire, love, and horror, portraying intimate relationships with vivid, natural ease. With a wide range of influences and inspirations as director and as a frequent international film festival juror, Guadagnino will illuminate his career and complex psychoanalytical narratives, reaching far into the past, present, and future of cinema.

Join Luca Guadagnino and Scott Foundas for a conversation about his international film career, inspirations, and collaborations. Foundas, previously a programmer at the New York Film Festival and a chief film critic for Variety, is now a film acquisitions and development executive at Amazon Studios. Click here for tickets

Newpoli crosses through time, culture, and musical styles as it performs modernized, old-world taranta music from southern Italy and surrounding countries. The high-energy ensemble stirs up a mesmerizing sound that melds traditional Italian folk music, Greek and Turkish grooves, Mediterranean and Spanish colors, and a contemporary sensibility they call Ritmi della Terra—Mediterranean Pulse.

Their new albumMediterraneo, released in October 2018, takes a deeper look at cultures that influenced the folk traditions of Southern Italy. It speaks about the Mediterranean Sea as a unifying element culturally and musically, as well as from a humanitarian perspective—a bridge that facilitates exchange between countries rather than a wall that divides us.The band found beautiful traditional songs from Basilicata and Puglia, songs that have not been rerecorded in modern times to add to the CD. Mediterraneo includes original and traditional music along with songs the band had developed many years ago that have since taken on a life of their own.

Called "...a brilliant outfit...who grab southern Italian traditional music by the neck and recast it in a dramatic style" by Songlines (UK), Newpoli is a unique group with a powerful sound and a 21st-century take on their tradition that is beyond comparison.

Newpoli is fronted by singers Carmen Marsico and Angela Rossi, a pair thatPopMattersin 2016 called “…visual and musical cynosures with their contrasting looks and twining vocal lines.”

In concert you’ll hear the tamburello, played by virtuoso Fabio Pirozzolo, pounding out the heartbeat of Newpoli’s music, the two female singers will start up a wild, frenetic dance, and you’ll have a hard time sitting still! The tempo is high and the drama and passion can be heard in every note!

Winner of the 2016 Independent Music Award in the category of Best World Traditional Album, Newpoli has performed in theaters, performing arts centers and festivals throughout all United States from New York City to Chicago, from Arizona to California and in their home country, Italy. In July 2018 Newpoli was invited to performed at TheLibrary of Congress in Washington, DC as part of their Homegrown Concert Series that presents the very best of traditional music from a variety of folk cultures thriving in the United States.

They were honored to be among the ten finalists for the 2018 and 2015 USA Songwriting Competition in the “World Music” category. Furthermore, their album “Nun te vutà” was nominated for the “PremioNazionale Cittàdi Loano per la musica tradizionale italiana 2015”, the Italian national award for traditional music.